"How Did You Even Get In?"

"What? How did you get in?"

"You're not even an elf!"

To participate in this siege, one had to belong to either the Elf or Orc race. Of course, other races could participate, but it required far more effort than those two. Since it was a war between the two races, outsiders were rarely accepted!

"I just persuaded the guards to let me in."

"Whoa. Seriously?"

"You persuaded them without even being an Elven merchant? Just how high is your Speech skill? Did you only invest points in Speech?"

"I heard the Merchant class has a high Speech skill..."

The players whispered among themselves in amazement. I guess the Merchant class can actually do stuff like that!

"But what is a merchant even going to do here?"

"Exactly. There are already Elven merchant NPCs here."

Inside the fortress, there were Elven blacksmiths, Elven tailors, Elven merchants, and other NPCs. These were NPCs whose quality of service was second to none!

"Ah. He probably came to buy junk items."

"Right. Orc junk..."

"No, I am here to sell siege weapons."

"Siege weapons?!"

"How? No, more importantly, is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it even a reliable item?"

The players immediately doubted him. After all, siege weapons weren't something just anyone could make. Frankly, even they could technically make siege weapons right now. Peons like us! If they had the Blacksmithing skill, they could craft them... but the real problem came afterward.

Siege weapons were not easy enough to craft with a low Engineering skill! Messing up could easily lead to team-killing and getting cursed out.

"Do not worry. The siege weapons I am selling are none other than..."

"None other than?"

"...crafted by Master Kim Tae-hyun."

"!"

"!!!"

Among blacksmith rankers, whether it was swords, spears, or armor, they were treated as artisans in their respective specialties by name alone. And Tae-hyun was treated as an artisan in Engineering!

"S-seriously? Can we check the crafter's name? If you're trying to scam us with something made by some other guy who just happens to share the name Kim Tae-hyun..."

"Haha. The performance is completely different, do you really think such a scam would work?"

"W-well, that's true."

"Hold on! I'll go talk to the Elven Commander!"

The Elven players scrambled. Bringing and presenting a siege weapon would grant an immense amount of Contribution Points!

Meanwhile, Cain and Golgol-i grunted as they dragged the siege weapon inside.

"Ugh... why do I have to do this..."

"You and Golgol-i have the highest Strength stats here. Lee Da-bi's is high too, but she hasn't arrived yet."

"Kuh! Da-bi! Please get here quickly!"

"Ha-yeon is probably cheering for you too."

"R-right. I have to do my best."

I feel like this guy has become even easier to exploit... Tae-hyun stared at Cain in wonder. How was it possible for someone to become even more exploitable than before?

"Chwik! What on earth are those elves doing?!"

"Chwiik. Chwiik. This makes no sense."

The Orcs buzzed with confusion and dismay. Things had been going well when they were battering down the fortress walls built with Elven masonry. But suddenly, siege weapons had appeared on the Elven side. Since the range was identical, the Elves firing from inside the fortress naturally held the upper hand. On top of that, the Elves had an overwhelming number of archers! From spotting targets to firing, the Orcs were completely outmatched. Consequently, the Orcs' own siege weapons were targeted and half-destroyed.

"Chwiik! Human adventurer! We need your help!"

"Chwik! We can't do this without you!"

Before they knew it, the Orcs had come to rely entirely on Tae-hyun! Orcs from other tribes were even coming over, demanding, "Chwik, do you have any more siege weapons?" and "Hand them over!"

These guys... Tae-hyun smiled warmly.

"Of course, I'll repair them and build new ones!"

Without realizing it, his tone had shifted from formal to casual! Yet, not a single Orc complained. That was how much Tae-hyun's standing had risen.

I don't need any of this. Tae-hyun's plan was simply to claim the staff, grab Gorsuk, and make a run for it. Yet, his reputation kept climbing inexplicably!

"Chwik. Having you here is reassuring, adventurer."

"Chwiik. There is no human who works as hard as you."

Orcs even greeted him warmly whenever he passed by!

I should just grab the staff. Tae-hyun went to find the Chieftain. Thanks to the chaos he had stirred up by playing both sides, his Contribution Points had skyrocketed.

"Chieftain, I would like to claim my reward."

"Chwik. Outstanding human adventurer! Ask for anything!"

The Chieftain was incredibly hospitable, all because of the capabilities Tae-hyun had demonstrated so far!

"I want that staff."

"Chwik, this thing?"

The Chieftain looked puzzled. Tae-hyun tensed slightly.

Is it a no? Just because his Contribution Points were high didn't mean he could get absolutely anything. What if that staff was actually some super important...

"Chwiik. I have no idea why you would want such a thing. If you want it, it is yours. Take it!"

"..."

Seeing the Chieftain's nonchalant attitude, Tae-hyun felt a sudden wave of foreboding. Was this staff actually worth anything?

"..."

What kind of garbage is this... In that moment, Tae-hyun completely understood why the Orc tribe cursed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Gorsuk. Abandoning their perfectly fine god to worship a slime god—no wonder they treated him like a madman!

Wait, this feels a bit like Akisus...

Yeah... might as well. What else am I going to do? Tae-hyun sighed and activated it. What use would he have for this staff otherwise? Using it as a flashlight in the dark?

? Tae-hyun tilted his head. Come to think of it, it made sense for the god of slimes to look out for slimes, but right next to him...

...No, never mind. He felt like he would only end up looking weird if he overthought it. Tae-hyun decided to let it go. But 'Summon Slime Clone' actually seems pretty decent? Clone-related skills were always considered advanced. Mages went through so much trouble just to get a single clone skill...

Hmm. Never mind, it's terrible. Tae-hyun immediately realized the flaws ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of this skill. First of all, its movement speed was slow, and all skills were banned... which meant it had to rely solely on basic attacks. To make matters worse, Tae-hyun's weakness was his relatively low level. Nowadays, high-level players over level 150 were a dime a dozen, and rankers who had surpassed the once-unreachable level 200 were popping up left and right. Yet, Tae-hyun's level was still only 124.

I can't use this for combat...

"Summon Slime Clone!"

Flash!

Wow, it looks exactly like me. It's so realistic. Among clone-creation skills, it was rare to find one that looked this identical. Usually, a close look would reveal some giveaway, allowing someone with sharp senses and quick wits like Tae-hyun to notice immediately. But this slime clone was completely indistinguishable.

I should save this for pulling off fakes later. Tae-hyun smacked his lips and dismissed the clone. At least it wasn't completely useless. Just then, Gorsuk approached him.

"Did you obtain the staff?"

"Yes. The staff chose me and lent me Shiiba's Authority."

"W-what?! Is that true? I knew it... Lord Shiiba is definitely telling us to establish the order!"

"...I don't think that's it, but."

"Wonderful, wonderful! Now we can leave this tribe."

"Haha. Hold on a second."

"...?" Gorsuk tilted his head. Was there any reason to stay here longer?

"Chwik! Human adventurer! Come here! I shall polish your armor!"

"Chwiik. Human adventurer! Here is an Elven bow we plundered from those elves. Take it!"

"..."

For some reason, Tae-hyun seemed far closer to the tribe than Gorsuk, who was actually born an Orc! Gorsuk said anxiously,

"Let us go quickly and build the order!"

"No, I want to leave, but they keep giving me stuff."

It was a situation where items just rolled in even if he did absolutely nothing, all thanks to his astronomically high reputation and affinity.

Lee Da-bi had not yet departed for the Espa Kingdom. This was because she had unfinished business.

"How can we sell this?"

"Who would even buy this?"

"Indeed."

This was the dilemma facing Lee Da-bi and the executives of the Power Warrior Guild! How on earth were they supposed to sell off Daniel's Engineering junk items?!

"Can't we just let people buy them if they want to?"

"No! An Engineering blacksmith who makes things other than bombs is incredibly rare! We have to nurture him!"

Da-bi shouted resolutely. With the territory's blacksmiths currently producing nothing but bombs, a talent like Daniel had to be fostered at all costs. For crafting classes, they received bonus experience points when the items they created were sold and used. They had to sell them somehow!

"I have a great idea."

"What is it?"

"We prepare boxes. Then, we sell them inside those boxes without revealing what's inside."

"?"

"Who would buy that?"

"Exactly. What kind of crazy person would..."

"Even if a few people buy them, they won't sell well."

The guild executives immediately dismissed the idea. However, the executive who proposed it remained confident.

"We need bait."

"Bait?"

"We put a really awesome Engineering item crafted by Tae-hyun in one of the boxes. Then we promote it! Advertise that there's a very slim chance of pulling it!"

"Y-you... you brilliant bastard!"

"What a fantastic idea! Are you a genius?!"

The executives slapped their knees in unison. This would work! It was bound to work!

"Let's make the boxes right away! Let's go pack them one by one!"

"But where are we going to get something crafted by Tae-hyun?"

"Guild Master... by any chance, your motorcycle..."

Lee Da-bi flatly refused. How dare they even think about that!

"No way!"

"Of course not. Then we have no choice but to ask him to make a new one."

"But he's busy with quests and tournaments right now, so that might be a bit..."

"Guild Master! You're our only hope!"

"This is a good thing for Tae-hyun too!"

"Exactly!"

The guild executives fell to their knees and begged. In this place, Lee Da-bi was the only one who could even strike up a conversation with Tae-hyun. The others had already suffered bitter experiences.

I think the problem with that was the idea itself...